Be the Backbone of Me
by honk-kind
Summary: In which a man walks into a pet shop in the middle of New York City and asks for a horse from the cutest of managers. Human!Stuck, rated T for weakly described smut and Karkat's potty mouth
1. Chapter 1

Alright, well this is my first time actually publishing something of mine, because wow I suck? I apologize if this is cliche at first but I've got stuff planned so please keep reading when I put up later chapters! Thanks ahead of time to anyone who reads this, reviews are much appreciated and I hope you like this Kat!

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"Oh, excuse me! Could you please not tap on the glass like that? Thank you sooo much." She smiled gently at the boy before her, patting his shoulder to go along with the thank you. It was such a busy day today, she hadn't even gotten the chance to eat breakfast! She guessed it was because the holidays were coming up, and what better time then to adopt a furry, or scaly, or slimy, or feathery friend into your family?

At the moment, trying to juggle giant bags of dog food, cans of cat food, fish feed, and toys all in the two arms she had, was kind of difficult. She constantly had to stop and make sure she wasn't running anyone over, or anything. By the time she had finished unloading all of it from her arms and into their correct spots, she had to quickly return to the growing line behind the one cash register in the store.

"Sorry about that, busy busy today!" She gave a big smile to the rather irritated looking man in front of her, who simply shrugged off her apology and slammed a bag of dog food on the counter. People sure were rude... She thought this silently while ringing up his items, waving him out of the store with a "Thank you for shopping here! The animals miss you already!" The girl gave a tiny sigh, tucking some of her short hair behind her ear before returning her focus to the line.

The rest of the evening consisted of, tired smiles, grumpy faces, thank yous and good byes, and finally something she did not expect. "Please, come again!.. or not.." She mumbled that final bit under her breath while watching the last customer leave the building. Goodness, she needed to hire more help. Today would have been easier if her stupid fishy-friend had actually showed up to work. Where was he anyway? Oh well, now she could get to enjoy her favorite part of the day.

She slipped out from behind the counter, weaving past the cleaned out shelves, until stopping in front of one certain enclosure. "Hey there cuties, today sure was busy huh? Hmm.. 1, 2, 3, 4.." She pointed at all of the little, stumbly fur balls while counting. Apparently she had forgotten that two of them had been adopted today with all of the chaos going on. "Looks like some of you went home today."

As she said this, she reached into the glass and lifted one of the kittens out, the consistent meowing almost instantly starting. The poor things always got so scared easily, especially when she picked them up, but eventually they would calm down and fall asleep in her lap. The girl cradled the tiny cat in her arms, making sure to keep it close to her so it had some sort of sense of closeness. She brushed her finger across the top of the kittens small head, rubbing lightly between his ears. "See? Not so scary.." She smiled gently, watching the animal struggle to keep its eyes open. The girl leaned down and pressed a kiss to its head before standing up, and as slowly as she could, setting him back down in the enclosure.

Just as she turned around, she almost jumped five feet high and out of her skin. The girl yelped loudly and stared wide eyed at the tall man before her, latching onto the glass of the kittens area. " Don't sneak up on me like that, you almost gave me a heart attack!" The rapid beating of her heart slowly returned to its normal pace. Why hadn't she heard the bell over the do- You had to be kidding. She spotted the bell resting on top of one of the shelves closer to the door, the string attached to it broken.

She reached up and slapped her forehead before turning her attention to him again, who was apologizing over and over for scaring her. There was something.. really different about him. He was a tall and brute of a man, but he kind of reminded her of a big soft teddy bear, the way his voice was low but gentle. She finally held her hands up to silence him, smiling weakly and shaking her head. "It's okie, you just surprised me is all. What can I do for you sir?"

"I come here to ask if your store happens to carry stallions or mares among the other types of pets."

She gave him the weirdest look ever. Was this guy fur real? Horses? In her small shop? In the city? She shook her head again and giggled lightly at him, pointing over in the direction of the food aisles. "Sorry sir, we don't have horses here. Buuuut, we do have horse care products if you are interested. Also, you realize we are in the city right? I doubt you'll find anyone who has horses." She couldn't help but laugh again as she finished her sentence.

He looked a little flustered, his face taking on a redder tint as he reached up and ran a hand through his rather long hair and smiled nervously. "I see. Please excuse me for bothering you miss.." She stared at him for a moment, watching his eyes trail around her apron in search of some name tag. "Oh! Sorry, you can call me Nepeta." She said this with another big smile "Would you like me to show you what we havvvvvvvvvveeeee..?"

Nepeta made circular motions with her hand, prompting him to tell her his name.

"Equius. Equius Zahhak."

She smiled again and nodded, spinning around on the heels of her shoes and leading him over to the section where the little amount of horse products they carried, sat. "As you can see, we don't have very much to offer.. since, heh, were in the city like I said before silly head."

Nepeta squated down and pushed through some of the items, continuing to speak even though he wasn't really listening and was just watching her. Once she stood back up and finished her sentence, which was clearly a question by the way she was looking at him now, he came back from his thoughts. "Uh, excuse me but could your repeat that last part?"

Nepeta's thin eyebrow's furrowed for a minute before she opened her mouth to speak. "I asked if you already had a horse." He had totally not been listening to what she said. She couldn't really blame him though, it was really late and she barely even knew what she was saying.

The one named Equius nodded, again keeping his speaking to a minimum. "Alrighty, we actually have a sale on some of the feed, if you wanted to look."

She crouched back down again, giving the hint to him that he should as well. Which he did, but kind of awkwardly about it. He had to find his balance after squatting down, almost losing it from doing such a simple task. Nepeta slipped herself a small smile. He really was like some big teddy bear.

As he sat down though, his elbow bumped one of those cardboard stands that was holding a bunch of stuffed toys on display. Of course, he knocked it over. His eyes widened and he stood up quickly, again starting with the apologizing as he attemped to set it back up, toys now spilled across the floor.

Nepeta simply watched with amusement, stiffling giggles before finally deciding to help the poor baby. She shook her head and helped him put the stand back where it was before starting to place the animals back in their places. "Again, it's really ok! You can't exactly help it I'm gues- OWWWWW." Nepeta yanked her head back in a matter of seconds.

She reached up and put both of her hands on her forehead, an immense stinging pain shooting through her head that struck some nerves apparently and made her eyes water. Which only made the situation worse.

Equius was now extremely wide eyed, seeing the tears in her eyes he ceased rubbing his own forehead, and instead reached over and took her hands away from her head as gently as he could.

"Nepeta I am so sorry, please please forgive me even though I don't deserve it." Right now, she was too distracted by something to answer. He was holding her hands, and she was letting him. She slowly moved a thumb over the top of his hand. It was kind of rough, probably from working, and it dwarfed her tiny ones

Nepeta, kind of liked it though.

This brought Equius's attention to their hands as well. His face turned red and he dropped hers, forcing Nepeta to snap out of the little day dream she was in. Oh god. She could feel her own ears and cheeks burning now. Equius cleared his throat and stood up. "Right. Uh, I'll take two bags." It took her a moment to pick herself back up and nod quickly, avoiding eye contact now as she grabbed two of the said bags and brought them over to register.

What was that all about? She had never blushed like that in her entire life! Especially with a stranger. The rest of their time spent together, was in silence, the only sound coming from sleepy animals and cars outside. Once she was finished she pulled out a brown paper bag and placed the food into it.

The bag mentioned before had olive-colored bubble letters printed on it, spelling out the word "Leijon's Pet Emporium." The o in what he guessed was her last name, was replaced with a paw print and the j extended out into a cats tail.

Nepeta waited for his reciept to print out before sticking it into the bag and handing it to him. "Thank's for picking Leijon's Pet Emporium." With that and a goodbye from him he headed in the direction of the door, leaving Nepeta there to mentally fight herself and tap her foot on the ground.

Oh come on Nepeta, that whole thing that just happened HAD to have meant something, right? You should do it! But what if he was actually some weirdo that was gonna turn her into a skin suit? Oh what the heck.

"Wait! Equius! I furgot to give you something!" She decided not to let this chance get away. Nepeta spun out from behind the register and bounced over to him, reaching inside his bag and taking the reciept back out. She set it down on top of one of the shelves and had to stand on her toes to see what she was writing.

Once finished, she crammed it back into the bag, smiled at him, and without another word, returned to the back of the store.

Equius was slightly confused at what she could have possibly written down, searching around for the peice of paper once he was out in his car and settled. There it was. The ten digit number. Of course she made sure to scribble a heart next to it and a smiley face.

Equius smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey you guys, I know I haven't put the next chapter up and I said it would be soon but ;-; I've just been extremely busy with real life stuff and I'm pretty sick. Chapter 2 isn't finished trust me, I'll try to have it all up and possibly part of Chapter 3 by today.

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Ahh, the joys of the weekend. Nepeta's eyes cracked open, being greeted by the bright rays of the morning sun peeking through her window. She yawned quietly and stretched her legs out underneath the sheets of her bed, doing the same with her arms. Though, as she poked her feet out from underneath her covers, she felt how cold the air was and quickly retreated.

Hmm.. maybe she could stay in bed a little lon-

"HEY. You gonna get out of bed sometime today asshole? Your fucking cats kept me up all night again so the least you could do was get up and come tend to these devil beasts."

With that the door to her room slammed shut and she sighed loudly. Guess not. Nepeta threw the covers up, attempting to get up but instead her back fell on the mattress again and she stared up at the ceiling. She REALLY did not want to get up, but if she didn't, Mr. Fussy pants would be in here again.

So, with that as her motivation, she finally slid off the bed and onto the floor, wandering over to the bathroom where she slid on a pair of sweat pants before exiting into the other part of the apartment. The smell of coffee took over her mind as she stepped out, almost instantly being led into the kitchen.

"Thank's for making me coffee Karkitty." She leaned up on her toes and plopped a kiss on her brother's cheek before taking the mug and joining her "devil beasts." on the couch. He simply stood there and grumbled a "You're welcome."

Nepeta pulled her legs up underneath her, her cat deciding that her lap was now the better place to sleep than the couch. One of her hands wandered down to pet him, the other staying curled around the handle of her cup while she watched the news.

Boring, boring, boring. Blah, nothing exciting every happened. She twisted her neck back as well as her body to look into the kitchen, having to raise her voice over the coffee maker. "Hey Karkitty? Do you have any plans today?"

Her brother, Karkat, turned around and raised an eyebrow while walking over. "Yeah, going out with Gamzee today, why?" Nepeta's face fell and she poked her bottom lip out in a pout. "Nevermind, its okie. Have fun today." Well, there went her chance of having someone to spend the day with.

Sure, she had other friends, but the two she enjoyed hanging out with the most volunteered on Saturday's, the other.. well, she kind of wanted to spend the day with a less drunk person.

Nepeta set her mug down on the coffee table, deciding to lift her kitty up and set him down on the couch again so she could lay down on her side and wrap her arms around him loosely. As her grumpy roommate sat down, he pushed her feet away so he had some room to sit, even though there was PLENTY of room considering how tiny she was.

He barely got the chance to set his coffee down before the phone started ringing. Karkat groaned like this was the worst day of his life and stood up, dragging himself back into the stupid kitchen to get the damn phone. He yanked it off the wall and instantly started with the shouting, making Nepeta roll her eyes. Finally he started to quiet down; woops, spoke to soon.

"Why the hell should I let you talk to her? I don't want some asshole who thinks hes big and tough spewing nasty things into my little sister's head so you can carve her out and use her as a skin suit later. No I will not calm down my vulgar! Who do you think you are?!"

Nepeta's eyebrows shot up. Someone was asking for her? Oh and a big guy too? Her eyes widened and she nearly jumped off the couch, scaring her poor cat to death who yelped as he was shoved off the couch. She quickly ran into the room, tripping over the small steps that separated the kitchen from the living room. Nepeta grabbed for it but he pulled the phone out of her reach in time to watch her tumble into him.

"Karkat give it to me! I know who it is!" She was back on her feet now, well, on her toes now since she was reaching for the phone and trying to grab at his arm. Why did he have to be taller than her? She missed when he use to be so short, like, five year old short. "Why the hell should I let you? He's sounds like a jerk." He frowned at her, slowly starting to bring it down to her reach.

Nepeta groaned and let her head fall against him. "Why can't you just give me the phone Karkat! I'm not sixteen anymore." She huffed and propped her chin up on his chest, looking at his extremely disapproving face.

"Fine. But if I hear anything... so help me god." He dropped the phone and let it bounce by the cord it was connected to, leaving Nepeta to grin and hug him before grabbing it.

She bit her bottom lip and twisted the cord in her fingers. What should she say? Hello would be a good start. "Hello? It's Nepeta. I'm guessing this is Equius? I'm sorry about my brother." Nepeta giggled lightly into the phone, listening for a response. Instead she got noises, odd ones too. She swore she could hear things rustling and crashing in the background, as well as a few grunts.

"Forgive me for not responding sooner." His booming voice came through the phones small speakers, causing Nepeta to shriek and slam it back onto its dock. She stared at it wide eyed for a moment. Oh. My. Goodness. Nepeta broke down into laughter. She slumped against the wall and shook her head, still laughing quietly at herself. If Karkat didn't already scare him away, she definitely finished the job right there.

Ok, now to call him back. She picked herself up and pulled it back down from the wall, still not able to believe that she just did that. He certainly did have a deeper voice when on the phone. Nepeta's eyes searched the phone for a moment. Oh, yeah.

She wasn't exactly able to call him back, since the phone was old as dirt, and didn't have any screen for her to find his number again. Nepeta sighed and stared at it, just hoping now since that was all she could do. She never thought she would be so happy to hear its annoying ring.

Nepeta grinned as she pulled it from the wall, quickly apologizing. "I'm so sorry for hanging up on you Equius! You just scared me. Heh, seems like you have a habit of doing that to me! Not in a bad way though!"

She slapped her forehead and decided that this was where she shut up and he talked instead. Was he laughing? Nepeta pressed the phone harder into her ear, swearing she heard him chuckle a little bit.

As if on que her cheeks flared up and she had to turn her back to her brother who was raising an eyebrow at her.

"It is quite alright Miss Lejion. Excuse me for scaring you again. I uh.." She heard him clear his throat, a smile she didn't even notice working its way onto her lips. "Mhmm?" She hummed quietly into the phone, he cleared his throat one last time before speaking.

"I was wondering if you would like to join me for coffee today. If you have plans it's alright, we could schedule it another time that is if you accept."

Nepeta started hopping up and down, thankful for her fuzzy socks that were muffling the noise she would normally make. "Yes!" She realized that she had nearly been shouting into the phone, quickly calming down and clearing her throat.

"Oh, I mean, yes, I would love to Equius. There is this really cute cafe not too far from here called Cafe 129, pretty original huh? Anyways, it's quiet and makes really good fraps." She nodded to him as he spoke even though he couldn't see her. "Alright, sounds good. I'll see you in a few ok? Bye."

With that she hung up and pressed up against the wall of the kitchen, her cheeks still rosy. This is the first time she had actually been asked out for coffee by someone! Oh how exciting this was, she haaaad to tell Karkat. Nepeta quickly bounced into the living room, now blocking the t.v. as she grinned at him.

He huffed and grabbed the remote, simply turning it off and looking at her. "What's got you so happy? And are you.. blushing?" Nepeta now had his full attention.

Before she could stop herself, everything came out all at once in a huge jumbled up mess. She went on about how she had met him at work and how he had made a mess and they had touched hands, getting more and more excited (if that was even possible) as she went on.

Karkat waited until he was too overwhelmed with the story to hold his hands up. "Ok ok I get it. Have fun ok? and I better get at least one fucking call while you are out letting me know you are ok. Don't need to find you in a dumpster somewhere." He grumbled a little bit.

Nepeta squealed and ran over, placing a dozen kisses on his face and saying thank you about a twice as many times before scampering off in the direction of her room. What was she gonna wear? Should she wear something comfortable or more on the pretty style like you would on a date? Had she showered..?

A million things were running through her mind, completley forgetting that she wasn't suppose to leave for another two hours.


	3. Chapter 3

So guess who's really not cool and made a 8tracks playlist for this? lol thats right I did. Wow I'm a loser, anyway, it was fun putting it all together. Here's the next chapter guys, enjoy! If you have any suggestions on something cute that I maybe throw in there in the next chapter, they will most likely be included! _  
_

Link for the playlist:

/manipul8/be-the-backbone-of-me

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"Let's get to know them then, so let us create, what we need each other to be.." Nepeta sung into the brush in her hand while making faces in the mirror since she was standing in front of a crowd of millions of screaming fans.

She dropped her brush down on the towel below her feet and leaned into the mirror, carefully running her eyeliner pencil across her eyelid. Nepeta blinked a few times before proceeding to apply mascara, standing back up straight once she finished.

"If your dreams are far too real, let me in then, let me in then.." Nepeta stared at herself. She had always been told she was pretty. Big brown eyes set on an angelic face (which was nothing but a lie, she was really a mischievous little devil.), framed by short brown hair.

Nepeta quickly shook her head and stepped away from the sink, still needing to get dressed for her daaaate. The thought of that instantly brightened her mood back to where it should be. She had decided on a dress too, her favorite one actually.

Nepeta was attempting to try to zip up the back of it now, making small grunting noises with her arms twisted behind her back awkwardly. Sadly, she couldn't zip it up any further, not without help. She sighed loudly and held her dress up while bringing herself into the living room.

Karkat was still sitting in the couch, slumped though unlike before. She poked her head around the corner and called to him quietly. "Mind helping me Karkitty?" Nepeta stepped out completely, revealing her navy blue and white polka-dotted dress. He didn't say anything as he stood.

Karkat simply wandered behind her and zipped her up the rest of the way, no complaints about how she shouldn't be showing her ankles like usual. Nepeta frowned gently and walked over, the floor boards creaking unhappily underneath her.

"What's wrong Karkat? Don't tell me nothing, I've kinda grown up with you so I know when you're upset." She looked over his face, trying to find any trace of what he could be feeling now. Nepeta was about to say something when he hadn't answered, but he held a hand up and stopped her before she could get one word out of her mouth.

Karkat flipped the t.v. off and turned to her, his angry stare starting to wither away due to another emotion that was clouding his thoughts. "You wanna know what's wrong? Gamzee. That's what's fucking wrong. Apparently, he isn't able to meet up with me because something came up."

Nepeta's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "But he's never bu-" She hopped up quickly, following Karkat into his bedroom while he muttered in return, "Exactly" not even needing her to finish her sentence. Man, what was she suppose to say? She had never exactly been the best at giving advice. Oh! That was it!

Nepeta grinned and ran over, as quickly as anyone can in heels, and took his hands. "Get up Karkitty, get dressed, brush your teeth, fix your hair. Do all of that ok? Please? I'll be right back!" Before he could protest or complain she had already left the room, shutting the door behind.

She could hear a poorly suppressed groan come from the other side, but it only made her giggle and get more excited about what she had in mind! Hopefully Equius wouldn't mind, or at least understand.

A few minutes later and Nepeta was standing in front of the door of the apartment, rocking from heel to toe while gently swinging her purse. To finish her outfit, she had thrown on the "absolute most cutest sweater ever" over it. Really it was just a green cardigan with a cat embroidered into it at the bottom.

Her accessories included; little yellow bow earrings, a grey knit beanie, and black tights. The last time she had ever dressed up so pretty like this before was when? High school? Prom? Lets just say it had been a long time.

"So where the hell are you taking me?" Nepeta spun around, smiling as big as ever as Karkat crawled out of his room finally. Her eyes went wide though as she dragged her eyes up and down him. "No where dressed like that!" He was literally wearing some beat up pants with rips in them, and a paint stained hoodie that he had gotten from Disney, as well as his drawn on All Stars.

Karkat threw his arms up into the air and stormed back into his room, Nepeta following after him. "You actually have to dress like an adult today Karkat. Oh the horror! What a terrible thought to cross anyone's mind!" She dramatically raised the back of her hand to her forehead, which earned her a nice shove.

Nepeta laughed at his flustered expression before she snorted in which her hands shot up to her face and she stared wide-eyed. Now it was time for them to switch roles. Karkat actually started to laugh and smile, Nepetas face getting bright red as she threw a shirt at him "Shut up.." She mumbled and watched the ground.

"Oh so it's not funny anymore?" Karkat shook his head while still smiling, forcing the tiniest of smiles on her face even though she was trying hard to be mad at him. Trying and failing.

Since they had grown up together, like she said before, it's not like she needed to turn around for him to take his shirt off or anything. As much as they "fought", Nepeta couldn't think of anyone she was closer to in her life.

She hadn't had a sister when she was younger and their mother died when they were little, so she was stuck with going to Karkat for different things. Their father had quite the temper (that explained Karkat huh?) so he wasn't the best when it came to listening to a ten year old girl's crying about some boy at school.

Nepeta had even gone to Karkat when she started her "womanhood", he hadn't given her a hard time or anything, he just went to school instead and asked all the questions she needed to know the answers to, for her.

Nepeta only snapped out of her thoughts once she saw that Karkat was actually snapping his fingers in front of her face. "Sorry, zoned out there for a minute. Let's see how we look." She stepped back and looked over her brother, clapping excitedly at how he looked. "Kanaya would be proud." She leaned up and rested her hands on his shoulders, pressing another kiss to his cheek.

The grey button-up top with black sweater thrown over it, and the scarf that the girl mentioned before, Kanaya, made for him one christmas looked a whole lot better than what he had been dressed before. She let him have the luxury of keeping the pants though.

Finally, they were out the door, Nepeta curled around one of his arms and swinging it happily as they walked down the hallway, to the elevator, down into the lobby and finally out on the street. It was getting chilly out, the winter rolling in which meant it would be snowing soon! Christmas would be around the corner too and that was always fun for them.

It would be an understatement to say that the streets were busy. You would also be completely wrong if you said the streets were busy only on the weekends. New York was always busy. It was the City that Never Sleeps right? Nepeta bumped into a few people as they walked, huddling closer to Karkat who looked irritated at each one of them as if they had just kicked a puppy or something.

How he managed to have friends, and keep them, she would never know. One of life's many mysteries. Once they rounded the corner of the street, she could clearly see the sign for the café. With each step, she got more and more excited than before until she felt butterflies growing in her stomach. Karkat even glanced down at her a few times to make sure she was ok since her arms were wound tightly around his own.

As they stepped inside, she almost immediately started looking around for Equius. Her cheeks and nose were still rosy from the cold, but the warmth of the room was soaking into her and making it disappear quickly. Where was he anyway? Even though the room was dimly lit and way too much furniture was scattered about, he shouldn't be that hard to locate!

Equius though, had already spotted her. He was just too shocked to even move. Equius felt his stomach churn as he watched the man on her arm snap something at her, only causing her to giggle and smile at him. Finally he stood, walking over to the two while trying to remain calm. Nepeta grinned and slipped away from Karkat, practically bouncing over to Equius and meeting him halfway. "Hey you! I've been looking for you, you know, I thought it would be pretty easy to spot you." She laughed lightly.

He just nodded though, a light blush dusting his cheeks as he continued to stare in awe. He managed to muster up the courage to speak after a few more moments of silence. "I would have come down earlier and save you the trouble of looking for me, but I was too awe struck. I highly doubt I have seen better a smile that could light the room like yours."


	4. --Small Break--

Hey guys, I first off want to apologize for not having the next chapter up sooner. It's also going to take a little longer for me to publish :/ I've recently had a death in the family, I'm having an extreme writer's block, and some other things have been going on. But please don't lose any faith in this fanfic (or me) yet! I promise to publish twice as much when I get back since you have to wait. Thanks to everyone who has even bothered to read just the first chapter and give it a try, it means so much to me.

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- Update! - 1/18/13

I should have the next chapter's up tomorrow! (maybe even today) Thank you everyone who have been anticipating these next chapters ❤ Also, I want to thank everyone for your kind words, things have been really great recently so I'm able to write more cute Equius x Nepeta fluff for everyone. I'm also considering starting something knew for when something like this happens.


	5. Chapter 4

Gueeeeeess who's back?

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Nepeta's eyes went wide. Did... Did he really just say that? Her face turned a hundred and more different shades of red, ears burning underneath her hat as she stared up at Equius. "W-Wow, thanks, you're really sweet." She quickly cleared her throat and scuttled over to Karkat's side.

He had apparently overheard because he was narrowing his eyes at the male, looking him up and down before he finally turned to Nepeta, "This is the guy from the phone huh?" Nepeta nodded and smiled brightly, all the color that had been on her face from the cold, now replaced with her lingering blush.

Karkat continued to stare down the larger male before his arm weaved its way around Nepeta's, tugging her closer to his side. The girl rolled her eyes at his behavior. Her smile returned to her face though once she turned back to her date. "We should probably grab a table."

Nepeta slipped away from Karkat, who opened his mouth to say something but decided against it, allowing Nepeta to do what she wanted. Which was join Equius's side and slip her arm around his instead. She smiled gently and lead them over to a booth near the window.

Equius gave a slightly nervous smile back, trying his best to just act normal. Though, it was kind of hard with such an already amazing girl wound around his arm. He stressed it greatly when he said already. Equius was sure there was more for him to be in amazement of.

He allowed her to sit down first, deciding to sit next to her which left the other side for Karkat since there was absolutely no way he was fitting on the other bench with Equius sitting on it. Not unless they flattened him down to the thickness of a pancake and shoved him in between. So, he unhappily slipped into his side of the table and proceeded to instantly shove a fist against his cheek and stare out the window. Gosh, what a grouch.

Nepeta waved down one of the waitresses, who told her she would be with her in a moment. While she waited for that moment to be up, she smiled for the millionth time at Equius. "So Equius-" Her sentence was cut short, a loud voice overpowering hers.

"Equius is it? You know, I saw something on the news this morning, about some girl and her boyfriend. Yeah, he was apparently insane and she forgot to call him back so he killed her and dumped her in a cement barrel. Pretty... interesting huh?" The boy watched him closely, his glare like daggers boring into him. Equius wasn't sure how to respond, he just kind of opened him mouth but nothing came out.

Nepeta on the other hand was fuming. He had no right to act like this! Maybe bringing him had been a bad idea, but at least she had tried to be nice! He didn't have to behave like such an ass. She made sure to make this clear by giving his foot a good stomp under the table, which he quickly brought his hand up to bite into so he wouldn't shout. Nepeta smiled at her brother who gave a shaky smile in return. "Excuse my brother. He's way too protective as you can probably see. Oh, I haven't introduced you two have I? Equius, Karkat. Karkat, Equius."

Equius gave a stiff nod, reaching up to touch his brow and then running a hand through his hair. Nepeta looked between them, biting her lip gently as if expecting them to suddenly become best friends. But they weren't going to be heading in ANY direction of friendship with Karkat still looking at him like that. Ok, time for him to leave. She stood up abruptly, whispering a quiet pardon to Equius as she weaseled her way past him and out of the booth.

"Nepeta what- HEY! Don't touch me, how old do you think I am?" She clearly thought he was five since he was acting like a toddler, and toddlers needed to be treated as such. So she took hold of his elbow and forced him out of his seat, the hard part would be getting him to the door without throwing a fit. Of course once he was standing though, he decided to take her arm instead and drag her over in the direction of the bathrooms, stopping right were it broke off into the men's and women's.

She frowned up at him and folded her arms across her chest, "Why do you have to act so childish? I didn't HAVE to invite you on our date you know." She said in a hushed tone. He sighed in response and cast his eyes in the direction of the floor before his hands wandered up to her arms, causing Nepeta to raise an eyebrow at him. Without saying anything, he nudged her head with his own and kissed her forehead. Ugh, he was good.

Nepeta lifted her hands up and pushed at his chest. "Will you stop that, I'm trying to be mad at you." She huffed loudly and tried her best to stay upset, but it was wavering with that pitiful look he had on his face. "I just want to look out for my little sister you know... I didn't mean to embarrass you or anything." He said in almost a hurt voice. Nepeta groaned and took his hand, dragging him back to the booth while wearing a look of defeat.

He on the other hand was grinning proudly at how well that worked, but in the back of his head, he was telling himself that he kind of did need to tone down the protectiveness if it meant so much to her that she was about to give him a spanking or some shit in the women's room. And not like the way you are thinking pervert.

Equius stood once they returned, again letting Nepeta climb in before taking his seat again. Karkat hadn't decided to sit though, instead, he stood there at the end of the table with his hands in his pockets. "I think I'm gonna head out. Sorry for giving you a bunch of trouble, but I think Nepeta can handle herself. Nepeta, I'll see you at home mk? I still expect a call."

He raised an eyebrow at her, Nepeta's mouth in the shape of an o. She was completley speechless. He was actually trusting her to take care of herself. Nepeta nodded quickly and gave him a huge smile, waving him out of the café. Nepeta had been so lucky to catch a small smile from him as well when he turned around.

She propped her elbow up on the table, placing her chin in her palm as she looked at Equius. The more she waited for something to happen, whether it be sparks to fly or for him to suddenly kiss her, she noticed he was.. sweating?

Oh man, had he made him that uncomfortable? Nepeta sat up and reached over, placing the back of her hand to his forehead. "Are you ok Equius..? You aren't sick are you?" He seemed to be day dreaming again, snapping out of whatever trance he had been that was conveniently in her direction.

"Oh, no, excuse me. I was getting... nervous I suppose." Equius flashed her a tiny smile, his lips pursed together. She nodded and let her hand rest on the table instead, her feet kicking lightly under the booth to help get rid of some of the energy she had from being so excited. "So Equius, what do you do for a living? Oh and where are you from?"

She watched him intently, eyes never wavering from his. She wasn't trying to be intimidating she had just learned from her father that a boy should be able to meet your stare without looking away. Really that went for everyone.

Equius, despite his constant nervous state, returned her gaze while speaking. "Right now, I'm working as a third grade teacher at the Anderson School Elementary. I've always wanted to teach." He smiled a bit. Which only made Nepeta smile bigger as well. It was always really adorable when someone gets happy when talking about something they really enjoy doing or are passionate about.

She nodded, prompting him to continue. "Awww, that's sounds like a really cool and fun job. I'm sure you enjoy getting to spend time with kids, I know I would."

He nodded in return before continuing. "Indeed, I wanted to give back to the education system. I grew up in New York, moved to the city with my mother when I was a teenager. So what about you? Where are you from? I would ask what you do as your occupation but seeing as it how we met.." He didn't need to finish his sentence, instead he simply smiled and let out another one of those quiet, deep rumbles of laughter at his own little joke.

It caused a small giggle out of her as well before she shrugged. "Born and raised here in the city, I've always wanted to get out of here, it must have been nice growing up away from busy streets..." She gave a clearly wistful sigh before continuing with a shake of her head. "Anyway, you'll have to tell me what it was like growing up there someday."

There was slight implication in her words that she wanted to do this again, she wanted to learn more about him, she wanted to get closer to him. Equius, gave her a small knowing smile. "Of course. I would love to tell you more." His eyes wandered up to the clock on the wall and he sighed. Oh... she knew what that meant. Nepeta's mouth was already pulled up into a corner by the time he looked at her again.

Forgive me Nepeta. We will have to continue this on a later date... But maybe not such a later date?" She felt her lips twitch up into a smile, nodding quickly. "Oh please yes! I would love too!" Equius stood, Nepeta quickly trailing behind him and walking him to the door where he began to shrug on his jacket.

"How does dinner tomorrow night sound? I'll give you directions and details later." Her heart swelled at the very thought of going to dinner with someone, but going to dinner with HIM? It was going to burst out of her chest! Nepeta, without even thinking, pulled him into a hug, her arms winding around him tightly before she let go to leave him there with a blush.

"I would be so happy to go to dinner with you! I'll give you my cell so it will be easier to keep in contact with me." She spun around, her dress lifting up with her and trying to keep up with her movements as she snatched a napkin from a table. Sadly, she had nothing to write with. Biting her lip, she turned back around, only too see that Equius's hand was extended out to her, holding a business card.

"Oh, hah, that works." Her face was tinted a light pink color though she continued to wear a smile, taking the card and gently tucking it into the pocket on her dress. They simply stood there for a moment, looking each other in the eyes and I guess you could say enjoying each others presence? Eventually, someone standing next to them cleared their throat, looking between the two with an annoyed expression. Nepeta's eyes went wide and she moved out of the way, giving the girl a sheepish smile with an apology that was shrugged off like usual.

Equius finally opened the door to the building, pausing though right before he left. "I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, Nepeta." He said this with the most genuine smile he could muster up, leaving the moment it appeared. She watched him the entire way when he passed the cafe's window before finally disappearing among the crowd. Nepeta sighed happily, closing her eyes for a moment and mouthing a thank you to any god that would listen.


	6. Chapter 5

Ok, first off, I want to thank every single person who reads this and writes me reviews. You have no idea how happy they make me! They give me more inspiration to keep on writing and literally put the biggest smile on my face AND make me squeal like a dummy. Again, thank you for your time and enjoy the next chapter.

p.s. I'm going to be splitting this into two different chapters because its rather long!

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"Karkat, Karkat, Karkaaaaatt!" She practically flew through the door, racing over to her brother as if her life depended on it. He barely even had time to turn completely before he was captured in a hug. The taller boy stumbled into the counter, but still managed to wrap his arms around her and hug her back tightly. It only lasted a few minutes though before he started to complain and try to pry her off. Eventually she complied and pulled away, rocking from heel to toe as she held her hands by her sides in fists. Karkat raised an eyebrow at her. "So? You gonna tell me about how it went?"

She quickly shook her head with a smile, getting an eye roll out of her brother. "Ooook then." Karkat turned back around and finished his sandwich, or his dinner rather, before walking past her and into the living room. He crashed down on the couch, flipping the t.v. on before bringing his meal up to his mouth. "Can I help you?" Karkat paused right before biting in, staring at Nepeta who had plopped down next to him, or on him considering how close she was. She again just shook her head and snuggled her head into his arm, mumbling a quiet thank you to him.

Ahh, so that's what it was about. He nodded slightly and bent down, placing a kiss on the top of her head before he returned to eating. She would have said something, but she was just too damn happy to say anything. Her first date had gone perfectly and now she was going to dinner, and none of this would have happened if he hadn't trusted her on her own.

She was probably going to be affectionate like this for a few days, well, until he pissed her off she would do her best. Soon, the light from the t.v. and the steady beating of Karkat's heart was putting her to sleep, her eyes getting heavy as she struggled to stay awake.

It wasn't long before she passed out, curled up around her brother's arm. He glanced down at her, letting out a small sigh, though not an unhappy one. Karkat gently slid out from underneath her, setting his plate down on the coffee table before he lifted her up. God, why did people get so heavy when they were asleep. Thankfully she was already light so it wasn't much of a hassle.

Karkat pushed open the door to her room with his back, carrying her over to her bed where he would unzip her dress and gently tug it off, careful not to wake her up. Oh, man, where were her pajamas? He turned for a moment, grudging the thought of having to dig through her dresser. So instead he pulled his shirt off and gave it to her before tucking her in with a kiss. "Night, love you."

The next morning, Nepeta was up before Karkat. Which was like as rare as finding someone with real common sense. He wandered around her room, trying to find her since he was in desperate need for a few yells or two. Eventually, he found her in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet with her elbow on the sink counter, using her hand to support the side of her head. His eyebrows knit together as he walked over, also taking note that her phone was in her hand, which mind you was clenched pretty tightly around it.

Wait did this have to do something with that Equius guy? Karkat frowned further and finally decided to speak. "What are you doing in here so early? And why do you look so pissed?" Nepeta sighed deeply and unraveled her legs from underneath her, standing up shakily since her foot had fallen asleep.

"Well, why don't you ask that asshole Eridan why he won't return my calls? Oh and why he hasn't showed up work this entire week." She walked past him and out of the bedroom, straight to the living room. Coffee sounded pretty damn good right now. Rather unhappily, she snatched up the coffee pot and started pouring herself a mug as Karkat trailed into the kitchen behind her.

"Wow seriously? I'll call him for you later today. First I want to know how everything went last night since you refused to tell me then." This, brought a smile to her face. She weaved past him and to the fridge, digging through it until she found the creamer and poured way more than was needed into her coffee.

Just the way she likes it. Creamer with a bit of coffee to go with it. Nepeta relaxed against the sink and shrugged as she brought it up to her lips. "Nothing special really happened. We had a lot of fun and he's really sweet. We were so caught up in each others company we didn't even order anything now that I think about it. Oh and..." She paused, waiting for him to prompt her on just in case he had already lost interest.

With the eager hand motion that she had received from him, she continued with a more noticeable smile. "He invited me to dinner tonight. He's suppose to text me today with the details and where we are going." And there it was. The icing on the cake, the hole in one, the big one. That had been the highlight of the entire date. Karkat nodded gently, an illegible look gracing his face.

After a long moment of silence between them, words finally fell from his lips. "That's great. I hope you have a lot of fun tonight. Just don't roll in at 2 in the fucking morning or some shit. You'll be dead if you wake me up that early." He jabbed a finger in her direction as he said this.

He was being cool about this, good. Instead of creating a scene, Nepeta silently agreed to her curfew with a nod. "Sounds good. So... Have you heard from Gamzee at all?" Hopefully she hadn't ruined his morning with the mention of him. Karkat sighed and shook his head, ripping open a packet of pop-tarts and nibbling on it. "No. Not one word. He better have a good fucking excuse if I run into him though."

Nepeta frowned gently and walked over, taking his hand and leading him out to the living room where she forced him to sit on the couch. "I'm sure he's just fine Karkitty. Don't worry to much. But he could have at least sent you one small text I know." There was a pause before she continued. "Has he been at work this week? I would say you could check for him there." An apprehensive expression was her answer.

"Hm.. How about you call Eridan and I'll try and call Gamzee before tonight, sound like a deal?" She grinned to try and lighten the dreary mood that had settled, holding out her hand to him to shake. Karkat cast a glance at her before his eyes fell to her hand, and then they rolled. "Yeah, sure." With that, he shook on it and then returned to the t.v. that was clearly more interesting considering it was off.

That clock on the microwave was starting to become her enemy. She stared at its glowing green numbers, watching while it took its sweet ass time on changing. Nepeta took another glance down at her phone, seeing there were indeed no new messages. With a sigh, she hopped off the kitchen table and wandered into her bedroom, falling onto the mattress. Her small body sunk into the bed, eyes watching the ceiling or rather the stupid glow in the dark stars she had stuck up there.

Somebody give her an award for being the best adult. It was already four and she still had no text or call from Equius in response to hers. He hadn't bailed had he...? No, he would never do that. Nepeta quickly shook that thought from her head, not that she had much of a choice though as her phone suddenly started to buzz. She scrambled to pull it out of her pocket, quickly reading the text from none other than Equius.

She giggled lightly at his excuse for not having called yet. Apparently, he had lost his wallet and had been searching for it for hours, which included going back to the school and searching for it there as well, he ended up finding it a pants pocket. He also wanted to meet her around... seven. The only problem with that though, they are in the city, and they want to try and head to a fancy restaurant at seven o'clock? Again, in the city?There was no way they would be able to get a seat without a reservation! Hmm.. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard for a minute before a light flickered on in her head and she began to type quickly, her message went like this:

_:33 It's purrfectly fine Equius! I don't think we will be able to get a table anywhere though beclaws of how late it is... But do not fear! Fur I have an idea! How about, you give me your address, and make sure you have drinks at your place, I'll take care of the food__ okie? Trust me on this._

There. Hopefully he didn't think she was terribly dorky with all of her cut puns and the silly little face she put before every text as her signature. He probably did though, but she wasn't the only one! He had some signature that she guessed resembled a bow and arrow? Archery maybe? She bit into her bottom lip as she waited for his response, giddy with just the fact that she was actually texting someone. Nobody ever really tried to get in contact with her, and sure she had everyone's contacts but... Karkat's was the only one she ever used.

Finally, he texted back, agreeing to what she had said. Excited butterflies grew in her stomach. Sure, she got excited a lot, it was just part of her personality. But this, this she couldn't imagine ever not being excited. Everything about Equius just... made her really happy. She couldn't really tell anyone how it felt. Though, she could tell you, there was something there that she could never let go of.


	7. Chapter 5 - Continued!

Karkat's vitamin's, check. Milk for this week, check. Hm.. what else was left? She looked over her shopping list, having already most of what she needed, all that was left was what she had planned on getting for her and Equius tonight. Nepeta cringed as the buggy screeched under her when she turned the corner of the aisle, nearly running into a display since the wheels were putting up a fight. Sometimes she really wished Karkat would just do the grocery shopping, but if she sent him to do it, he would come home with just beef jerky and possibly a new movie to add to their overflowing collection. The responsibility of feeding them fell to her clearly.

Nepeta chucked a few bags of chips in the cart before moving herself into a line, only minutes later and she was piling all the bags into her car. She sighed ever so lightly once she was in front of the wheel again. Suddenly, the thought hit her that she was supposed to go directly to Equius's house. With a groan, she smacked (pathetically) her head on the wheel a good few times before pulling out on the street. Of course she had decided to buy milk and there was no way it was going to sit in the car for hours.

So, she spent at least an hour longer getting back to the apartment, putting the groceries away, having to explain to Karkat that she hadn't gone to her date yet, and make him food because he was too damn lazy to remove himself from the couch. "Don't you dare forget to call Eridan for me!" She said this as she slammed the door on her way out, hearing him shout after her. Perhaps something else would come up? Maybe her car would stop working, or someone would break into her shop right at this very moment! Nepeta huffed loudly, heaving herself back into the car.

The drive there was a short one, he didn't live far away to much of her relief. She leaned forward as she drove past it, having to look way up to see all the building. OK so his apartment was large, larger than her complex. Nepeta found a spot in the parking garage, struggling to get her phone out of her pocket with bags on her arms. She eventually managed, finding the text with his room number. D-21. So he lived pretty far up there huh? She stepped into the elevator after waving to the man at the front desk, he returned her a friendly smile. Gosh, the people here seemed nice, even the door man had tipped his hat to her.

Nepeta clicked her heels together as she watched the buttons light up, occasionally glancing down to make sure she didn't look like she had just rolled out of bed. A pair of skinny jeans and her favorite pink hoodie was ok right? Yeah... they were probably just going to watch movies, she thought. Being struck with that idea led to this one: What the hell were they going to do for hours?

Before she could decide on whether she wanted to abscond or not, the doors to the elevator had already opened and that annoying ding sounded. Too late now she guessed. Nepeta breathed out as she stepped from the elevator, hearing her heart beat in her ears as she scanned the door numbers. 19..20...21... and there it was. She froze in front of his door, on one hand she wanted to bolt out of there and text him, tell him that something family related had come up, but on the other hand, she knew that if she wanted to get closer to him, well she at least had to try. The second side won, and like usual, that was the side that involved her heart. But hey, if she hadn't followed her heart before, she wouldn't even be here now!

With more confidence, she raised her hand up and rapped on the wood lightly. With less confidence, she stared as the door opened as she met with Equius. He smiled lightly and opened the door further, asking her to come in, which she did, but with her knees locked so she wouldn't collapse into a nervous heap on his floor. Equius had noticed her clear uneasiness, his eyebrows furrowing. "You aren't ill or uncomfortable are you?"

Nepeta hopped back into reality and smiled, nodding to him in such an enthusiastic way you would think he offered to kiss her. "Oh, no! I'm perfectly fine." With another big smile she turned back to his apartment. Dear god, how did an elementary teacher afford something like this? Her lips parted in awe, eyes roaming from every piece of furniture in the room to every single nick-knack. She squeezed her hands gently around the plastic bags in her hands, which yet again pulled her from awe-land.

Nepeta was really forming a bad habit of zoning out like that. The shorter one located his kitchen and made a bee-line for it, hoping it wasn't rude of her. She pushed the bags up on the counter, with little to no effort . Equius stood there watching her, trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his hands, now they wanted to do an interpretive dance since they were shifting from behind his head, his neck and from the insides of his pockets multiple times.

He finally, just allowed them to hang by his side and flex a few times. "So, what have you planned for dinner tonight? If you don't mind me asking." Nepeta was beginning to unload the bags, but stopped halfway and instead held them together shut so he couldn't see inside of them. "You'll have to wait and see, so go find a movie or something while I'm cooking, and no peeking!" She said with a grin. Equius let out a sigh of relief and nodded, slipping back into the living room with his hands up in an innocent way. "I won't peek. I promise."

Nepeta leaned over on her toes, making sure he wasn't hiding or something and would catch her in the act of preparing their meal. Thankfully, he had sat down on the couch though like told, and was flipping through the t.v. now. She rested back down on the bottoms of her feet and set to work, pulling out the food from the bags, chucking those bags into the trashcan, and occasionally checking on Equius juuuuuust in case. He remained fixated on the television, still smiling too. A few minutes later and Nepeta poked her head into the living room. "Equius, where do you keep your kitchen rags?" The male started to stand but she quickly rushed over and put her hands on his shoulders, pushing him back down on the cushions. "N-No! You don't have to show me, just tell me."

"Oh yeah, I forgot, a surprise. They are in the drawer underneath the coffee maker." He watched as she scurried back into the kitchen, and before he could even return to the movie he had put on, she was back out in the living room. In her hands were two plates, each of them covered in rags so you couldn't see the contents underneath. So that's what they had been for. He sat up and moved some things out of the way on his coffee table so she could set them down, which she did. She held onto the top of the rags now while putting on her most fancy-like face ever. "Today we shall be serving a most scrumptious meal, a meal worthy of a king. In fact, the recipe itself belonged to the chefs of one of the many kings of France years and years ago! But now, it is here for your taste buds. Without further ado, I present to you..."

Equius was almost buying it, not the part on it belonging to a king, but the part where it was an amazing meal. As the rags came off though his eyes widened at was before him. "Voilà! Les Kidsa Cousine!" There on the plates were two blue, plastic trays, each of them containing compartments that held each food. She broke down into laughter at his expression, not that she could really decide on what exactly it was! It looked as if he was both shocked and disappointed. She fell down on the couch next to him, bumping into his side a bit before lifting her tray away from the table and setting it in her lap, little giggles still slipping out of her mouth. "Pretty yummy huh?"

He gingerly picked up the tray, already able to predict the mess he could make if he bumped it. "I haven't had one of these since I was a toddler." He said. Nepeta looked genuinely surprised. Most nights, this was dinner for her and Karkat. On other nights it was ramen or chinese, oh and pizza. It was only on special occasions like birthdays and work achievements that they had an real meal. Even though Karkat refuses to get up and go into the kitchen to cook, let her assure you, he is an amazing chef. His food is literally restaurant worthy and she had always tried to encourage him to go somewhere with it, but he just blew it off and got a boring job, at a boring building, with boring co-workers.

"Do you cook a lot then?" She scooted closer, a completely innocent act on her behalf but he hadn't thought so. His face got red and he cleared his throat. "Yeah, I usually cook every night unless I'm busy with work. Then it's pizza." Nepeta nodded in agreement. "Oooh yeah, I know all to well about that." She yawned gently and stuffed some mac into her mouth. Their meal was mostly a quiet one, Equius had put in Lord of The Rings: The Twin Towers but he had skipped all the way to the part where Shadowfax comes in. It was a little awkward but oddly cute at how worked up he got over the horses "beauty."

When she finished her meal, she picked lightly at the brownie still stuck to the sides of the plastic while the movie played. Were they going to talk? Should she even try talking, or would that interrupt the movie? She lifted her head to look at the screen, the movie paused so she turned her attention to Equius. "You're bored aren't you? I apologize. I have something probably more to your liking that we could do, if you are interested."

She sucked in some air, about to say something but she decided against and instead just nodded and stood. Equius stood up shortly after, making his way for the door where he slid his shoes on and shrugged on a jacket. Nepeta followed, wondering silently as to where they were going, hopefully not somewhere too far away otherwise she would get home late and Karkat would have a panic attack.

He switched off the lights and opened the door for her, allowing her to scurry out into the hall before closing it behind them. Equius slipped his hands into his pockets, leading her towards the fire escape stairs, again, holding the door open which she mumbled a quiet thank you in return. "Up?" She said, he responded with, "Up." So they went up, and up until at last they met with the door that went out on the roof.

Her mouth tumbled open as she stepped out on the roof, eyes roaming over the city. She had never seen it like this before, sure, she went out at night, but she had never seen it from this high up. It was so... beautiful. Nepeta wandered over to the railing, hands curling around the top of the bars since despite the hypnotizing wonder, she was still afraid of heights. Her eyes fluttered close, feeling the wind brush across her face and weave through her hair. She sighed contentedly, listening to how all the noise melted together underneath them. When she opened her eyes again, Equius was leaning against the railing next to her, watching her and not below.

She quickly averted eye contact, staring down at the cars instead with her face flaring up. "I didn't know the city could be this.. gorgeous." She said this, barely above a whisper. Equius nodded and turned around, his back now facing the street as he let his head hang back. "A lot of the things in this world have had their beauty go unnoticed. It's a real shame, though, I guess if everyone was able to see it then it wouldn't be special for those chose few who do acknowledge it. I suppose I'm one of those chose few, and call me selfish if you wish, but I hope nobody else finds out about this beauty I speak of."

Nepeta listened intently, turning her head to look at his, all too aware of how the lights flashed across his face and how it made him glow. She swallowed and reached up, tucking her hair behind her ears before fixing the hood on her jacket. "O-Oh hah, yeah, I can understand why you wouldn't want to show anyone this. I guess the Big Apple wouldn't be so special at night if every noticed it!" She smiled, though it soon fell once he began to laugh. Her eyes went wide and her face turned the shade of a cherry. "Hey what's so funny! I was being serious!" She popped up from where she was standing, following after him as he walked to the door.

As soon as she was about to reach up and tap on his back, he turned and caught her wrist. A split second later and he was closer to her, so close it seemed she could hear his heart beat thud in her ears, right in tune with her own. She breathed out quietly, her eyes wide as she watched him, though, her gaze soon trailed down to his lips. So close... She could just, lean forward and kiss them right there, taste them, feel them against her own. Nepeta slowly looked back up at him, wondering if he was going to or not. Wasn't that something the guy was supposed to do? He was suppose to be the one that kissed the girl first. He won't be the first one to kiss the other at this rate.

The moment, sadly came to an end. Equius's face started to burn up and he bolted back up straight, dropping her wrist as if he was shocked by his own bravery. How had he even managed to muster up enough courage to do that? Reality rushed back in and he started to apologize profusely, but Nepeta simply shook her head, her arm falling back down by her side. "No.. It's really ok. Don't worry about it." There was a weak smile on her face, masking the disappointment that was really there. It was ok, it was ok, it was ok. She reminded herself this, thinking that if she said it enough she would come to her senses. It was ok, It... It wasn't ok. She swallowed gently and cast her eyes at the ground.

"Please, don't apologize. I didn't know you could move so quickly!" She let out an almost hurt laugh, beginning to imagine things. Maybe he doesn't like her as much as she thought, or maybe he was the one that finally came to his senses. Nepeta's eyes lifted back up to his face, which still looked flustered beyond belief. "You're really cute when you blush, you know that?" Her hand wandered up and cupped his cheek, feeling the warmth of his blush against it. "I had a lot of fun tonight, Equius. We should do this again, how about my place next time?" She put on a more cheerfully fake smile before digging into her pocket and finding a crumbled up piece of paper. Nepeta slipped it into his hand while standing up on her toes, wobbling around to find her balance, a kiss was stolen from his cheek.

Hesitantly, she pulled away and stepped around him, but again, was caught before she could get too far. She spun around to look at him, confused at what he could want but pitifully hopeful that he had changed his mind on kissing her. "By the way, Nepeta. You know how I was talking about not wanting to share something beautiful with people." Her thin eyebrows furrowed but she nodded slowly. "I... I wasn't talking about the city." And that was all that was needed to be said. She knew exactly what he was talking about. Her lips parted, a seemingly immortal blush crawling up on her cheeks. Maybe tonight wasn't so bad, no matter how strange their date had been.


	8. Chapter 6

Nobody kill me, please.

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By the time she had gotten home, she was nicely chilled to the bone, just from going from the car to the building, and was hopping over to the heater. If only they were able to have a fireplace in their apartment, but nooo, it was too much of a fire-hazard. She bent down and quickly warmed up her hands before turning around. That's odd. "Hey Karkat? Are you home?" Nepeta leaned down and slipped her shoes off, carrying them while she headed into the kitchen and flipped some lights on. Hmm, no Karkat, but a note was taped to the fridge.

She gently tugged it off, the message going like this:

_Nepeta,_

_By the time you get home from your date, which I'm sure you are going to be DIEING to tell me about, I will have left already. I have gone to visit Gamzee, since apparently, something has happened to Tavros. He hasn't gone into much detail about it yet, but I can't imagine what it could be since it's Gamzee. For all I know, he may be so high off his ass that he thinks the kid grew horns. Anyway, I'm going to be staying there for at least two days just to make sure something isn't really wrong, and because of... you know... not seeing him in so long. Please don't burn down the entire fucking apartment and that Equius guy isn't allowed inside while I'm gone, or any other guy unless its like.. John or Strider since they reek of homo. But if I even so catch a whiff of him when I get back home, he is going to be in for a world of hurt. Well, I've got to get going before traffic get's too terrible, you know how it is. If you need me for any reason you have my cellphone number. I'll miss you._

_- Karkat. xx_

She snorted as her eyes trailed over the text, a gentle smile finding its place on her lips. It was good he was going to visit Gamzee, they had been rather distant lately and for no reason what so ever. For a while Karkat had thought something was wrong, or he had done something, since he was "busy" basically 24/7 for the past week. Nepeta hadn't bought it though. You could ask a random stranger off the street if this guy looked like he was ever busy and they would say no.

Oh well. She would miss him too. Nepeta stuck the note back on the fridge before heading back out into the living room, finding something she did not expect. She nearly dropped her shoes on the floor, her hands flying up to her mouth as she backed up slowly. Oh my god no, nononononononono. This could NOT be happening. Nepeta spun around quickly and darted for the phone, mashing the keys quickly but her shaking hands kept dialing the numbers wrong. It was only a three digit phone number! She peeked her head towards the door, seeing she had indeed forgotten to lock it.

Just as she was about to finish dialing 9-1-1 correctly, the phone was slammed on the dock by someone other than her self. She was spun around, her heart feeling like it was going to burst out of her chest. Oh god, kill her now- Wait, cancel that order, kill HIM instead. Nepeta growled and tore her arms away from the boy that smiling at her with a goofy grin. "What the hell are you doing in my apartment Eridan? There is a fucking door you know, you could have knocked instead of just waltzing in here and making me almost call 9-1-1 on you."

The man, named Eridan, was someone she had grown up with her entire life. He had forever been strange to her, always trying to avoid any situation with him. Though, if Nepeta was honest with herself, she knew that she could consider him her best friend and that he would be there, no matter what the situation, at the utter of his name. They had recently become co-workers at her business. Speaking of business. "Also, can I ask you where the hell you've been? You haven't showed up to work in an entire week and it's really hard to manage it by myself at this time of the year!" She frowned up at him and folded her arms across her chest, but he simply stared at her blankly before laughing.

"Wwell sorry, been goin through some tough shit right noww, Miss Leijonnnnnn" His accent was heavy as he reached forward and tapped her nose, which was wrinkled up, before walking past her and further into the kitchen. Man his breath smelt terrible, it had the distinct scent of alcohol in it. Great, all she needed was a drunk Ampora. Had he ever been drunk before? She couldn't remember a time in his life he had ever been close to drunk.

Nepeta watched him wander over to the fridge, fumbling around to find the handle before opening it rather violently, clearly frustrated at his lack of ability to concentrate. "HEY. I never said you were allowed to stay, especially since I'm mad at you." She walked over and slammed the door shut, causing him to quickly retreat from inside of it so he wasn't crushed. Eridan narrowed his eyes at her from behind his obnoxiously thick glasses, but there was something... off with how he had looked at her. Sure, they had gotten into fights before, but something was giving her a bad vibe. The expression fell though, now he looked at her with a pouty face. "Awwwww, but Nep, I'm so fuckin hungry, I haven't eaten all day."

She continued to stare at him unhappily. This was one of those situations where she had to put her foot down otherwise she would be walked all over. He huffed and rolled his eyes lazily, stepping forward and taking her arms. "Come on Nep.. I'm just hu-" Nepeta tugged away and reached up, rubbing at where his hands had been. Her bestfriend's eyes squinted at her again.

Nepeta started to back up further but he grabbed her by her arms again and slammed her up against the side of the fridge. He moved his head down to her neck where his lips met her skin. Her eyes were wide and she was now both shoving and throwing weak kicks at his legs. "Eridan cut it out! You're drunk and need to go home. You can eat there." He lifted away and snorted, making her heart stop in it's place. No no no, there was something terribly wrong. He wasn't joking around with her.

"Nah, I'm good I think, I'd rather eat you up.." He mumbled towards the end and moved back down to her chest, which was rising and falling rapidly. There was no way she could escape, he was much larger and stronger than her. She wasn't about to quit struggling though, no way. Nepeta continued to try and stomp on his feet, wishing she had worn heels tonight. Her hands also smacked at his chest until finally, she believed she had won.

Smack. Nepeta felt tears forming in her eyes at the sudden stinging sensation that was emitting from her cheek. He- He had just SLAPPED her. "Stop fuckin fightin me Nep." Eridan moved up and forced his lips on hers, where she bit down with as much force as she could, into his bottom lip. He yelped and quickly pulled away, lifting his fingers up to touch his now busted lip. This was her chance to escape. Nepeta darted as fast she could away from where she had been pinned, and thank god he was drunk and stupid.

She was able to rush into Karkat's room, slamming the door behind her before and locking it. The girl slid down against the wood, able to hear Eridan roaming around in the kitchen and bumping into things before his hands were on the door and he complained more. Her fingers fumbled around in all of her pockets, desperately trying to find her phone but it wasn't there had she... DAMNIT! She left it in Equius's kitchen!

Nepeta hit her head against the door, squeezing her eyes shut. All she could do now she guessed was sit here and hope Eridan left or she would have no choice but then to make a dash for it and call the police... She really didn't want to. He was just drunk, that was it right? Nepeta jumped as she heard a crash, sitting on her hands now so she wouldn't grab the doorknob and go see what it was. Soon enough she heard more breaking and finally a shouting Eridan. Ok what in the actual hell was happening out there. Her curiosity betrayed her safety and she reached up, slowly cracking the door open.

It seemed like it was only seconds later after she did that noises stopped. She stood up carefully, her nerves on end and the hairs on her arms sticking up every time she stepped on a creaky floorboard. She allowed her shoulders to drop back down to their normal resting place once in the living room. There was nobody here. Eridan had left. She closed her eyes and reached up, pressing the palms of her hands into her still watery eyes. How could he do something like that, even if he was drunk, he should have known when it was enough!

Nepeta slowly peeled her hands away from her face, letting them hang by her sides as she returned to the kitchen. Her frayed nerves were slowly piecing back together, but in less than a second they were broken again, her heart returned to almost heart-attack inducing speeds, and her limbs got weak. She wanted to scream desperately but no sound would come out. She swore that nobody was in the apartment anymore! It took her a moment to realize who it was though, and when she did, she was able to cry out finally.

"Equius!" Nepeta flung her arms around him and buried herself into his stomach, crying as her body shook. "F-For once I'm glad you were the one to scare me.." She pulled her head up and gave him a weak smile. He looked almost as terrified as she was, but not for his own safety, but rather for her's. The taller one nodded and curled his arms around her tightly, holding her close to him without speaking. After a long moment of silence he finally spoke. "You left your phone at my place. I was returning it and saw the male in your apartment, and he smelt of alcohol and was shouting and knocking things over so I figured he must have broken in." He swallowed gently and slowly loosened his grip so she could look at him.

Equius pursed his lips together, flexing his hands behind her. "I got him to leave..." He said quietly. She knew what 'got him to leave' meant. Nepeta reached behind herself as best as she could, taking his hands and bringing them in front of her where she squeezed them. A flimsy smile was given, bringing one to her cheek and holding it to her face. "Hey... don't worry about it. You did what you felt was right. I'm safe. Thank you." She turned her head and kissed the side of his hand. Equius nodded and stepped closer to her, no longer needing her help in holding his hand there. His thumb rubbed over her cheek, brushing away the trail of tears.

"Would it be ok if I kissed you?"

Nepeta nodded, breaking into a full grin as she closed the distance between them. "Oh god, please do." She said with a laugh, her smile was soon returned as he dipped down, meeting her halfway and connecting their lips together. Her eyes fluttered closed, her hands moving up to weave behind his neck and brush against his hair. Finally... that kiss she had wanted. She smiled against his lips, right through the tears. Yeah, tonight really hadn't been so bad.


	9. Small Interruption for a Certain Someone

Dear god Nick I can't believe you this story isn't anything special I swear **_don't make fun of me please _**(Even though I know you won't).


	10. Chapter 7

Sometimes it was really nice without Karkat around. Of course she still loved him to death and would die without him, but hey, sleeping in a couple more hours in the morning was pretty nice. And by saying a couple of hours, she meant more like, three and a half hours. Karkat usually got her up around 7 so... She got up around 10:30 this morning. Boy did it feel great.

She turned over, arms stretching out and creating snow angels in her sheets like usual. Though, unlike the usual, she bumped into something; more importantly someone. Nepeta squeaked and spun around to get away from whoever the hell it was next to her, only wrapping herself up tighter in her comforter during the process. Finally, she fell to the floor with a thud, unable to see anything because of her sheet cocoon. "Nepeta? Are you alright?" She slowly pried the blankets away and peeked out from under them, eyes finding the blurry image of Equius.

Her mouth fell open. "Equius! What the hell are you doing in my bed?" She stepped out of her sheets and curled her arms around herself instinctively, face a little red from the idea of him in her bed! What if Karkat had to come home and saw them? He probably would have thought theyd- "We... We didn't do anything right? PLEASE tell me we didn't do anything." Equius's own eyes went wide and he held his hands up in defense, waving them to stop her train of thought right there.

"Of course not! You told me sleep with you and I mean I suppose I could have declined but you looked so upset at the idea of me leaving so.." Nepeta's eyes softened as he continued on. She had asked him to stay? She couldn't really recall anything from that night, except for a few things like Eridan of course, and then... there kiss. Her face brightened a bit at the thought of it, quickly pushing it somewhere else in her mind. Nepeta furrowed her brows, trying to think back hard to the night before but it was all dark and hazy.

She eventually gave up and lifted her head, picking the sheets up off the ground as she climbed back up on the mattress and sat there next to Equius. "I don't remember anything from last night, except for a few things but... What all happened after, you know, our uh..." Nepeta trailed off, though the man next to her already knew what she was talking about. Equius nodded and slid away from her mattress after setting his pillows up neatly against her headboard. He leaned down and scooped his shirt up from the floor before pulling it over his head.

"Um yes... I know. It almost seemed like you had been the one downing drinks last night." He laughed gingerly, which forced a small smile on her lips. Nepeta rose from the ground as well, having really payed no mind to the fact that he was shirtless last night until now. Her cheeks got a nice glow to them, foot now kicking across the ground lightly. "Oh hah, yeah probably... You want to talk over it some more during breakfast? I call playing chef." Nepeta weaved her way to the door, shoving her feet into some of Karkat's slippers next to the said door before exiting the room. Equius trailed behind her loudly, not that he was trying to be loud, his footsteps were just heavy and the floorboards weren't appreciating the new weight.

She patted a spot on the table that was just before a chair, indicating for him to sit, which he did. He sat up straight with perfect posture, hands folded neatly on the wood. Nepeta snorted and shook her head as she stole an apron from behind the pantry door and wrapped it around herself. Of course, it was a little too big for her since it was Karkat's, and clearly Karkat's at that. Someone would probably expect something red, or something with crabs on it, but come on, that wasn't creative enough! Nepeta and some of the others in their group of friends had picked out the apron that read: "How can you help? GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN"

It fitted him pretty well. She faced him while tying it in the back. "You know you can loosen up some, this isn't like breakfast with the president or anything, just breakfast with lil ole me Nepeta." Lil ole her smiled as she finished her bow, turning back around to face the stove and prepare their scrambled eggs. "I hope scrambled eggs are fine? We don't have much of a choice when it comes to breakfast, usually its just cereal and go." She slid, literally, over to the fridge, locating the egg carton that was buried deep in the terrifying, never-ending cavern that was their refrigerator.

Equius watched as she moved around the room, taking note of a few things like decorations and pictures since he hadn't exactly had the time to last night. She was clearly singing a song in her head, her hips swaying to the silent music. "I would rather be having breakfast with you than the president." He said shyly, offering an even shyer smile until he realized he was staring. Equius cleared his throat and quickly looked away. "So, who was the man that was in your apartment last night if you don't mind me asking. It's really not my business."

Nepeta turned to looked at him, pausing the playlist she had going in her mind to speak. "No no, it's plenty your business at this point. The guy's name is Eridan, we have known each other for a long time. He's always been kind of strange... Anyway, what happened last night was something that was completely out of the ordinary. He was drunk and uh..." She paused, rethinking her choice of words. "He's never been drunk before and he was lost I guess and remembred I lived close, I dunno." Nepeta hated not telling him what exactly happened but she didn't want to worry him. Breakfast was soon dished up on plates, along with some toast. She slid a plate in front of him and set the orange juice in front of him along with a glass. "There ya go, enjoy. This is the second time I've cooked for you right? Might as well call me your wife." She grinned teasingly before sliding into the seat across the table.

Equius chuckled gingerly at the thought, too distracted with the Eridan guy. He had a feeling that she wasn't telling him something, she wouldn't have locked herself in that room and wouldn't have cried so badly if he had just broke in. He must have tried doing something to her. Equius got hot at the very idea of someone hurting her. He pushed it away for now and poured himself some orange juice before handing off the carton to Nepeta. "Well hopefully it won't happen again..." She nodded solemnly, her mood having changed rapidly as she sat there with her own thoughts. Equius quickly chimed in. "You know, I'll have to repay you for all of these meals." Nepeta glanced up from the eggs she was stabbing, a small smile forming.

Ahh, there it was. The smile that gave birth to an entire population of butterflies in his stomach, the smile that hugged his throat so tight it stole away his ability to breathe. The same tender smile that made the most brutal of mens' heart falter. It certainly did him. "How does lunch sound?" Nepeta nodded and put on an even bigger smile at the idea. "I would love to! I'll just have to see if I have time to get off from..." She trailed off as her eyes widened, daring a glance at the clock.

Oh god she was late for work. Nepeta pushed away from the table, grabbing her plate and dumping its contents into the trash been before running over to the sink and nearly breaking it as she set it inside. Equius had apparently gotten the point since he had retreated to her bedroom to get his shoes and jacket. He shoved his feet into the said shoes and shrugged on his jacket as he headed for the door. The taller one paused though in the middle of the living room. "Nepeta... Would you like me to stay back for a few and tidy up your apartment?" He turned around to look at her as she came hopping out of her room, tugging on a new pair of khaki jeans.

"Oh no! I certainly couldn't let you stay here and clean up Eridan's mess by yourself! You are welcome to come over later and help though if you want, I won't force you." She smiled as she walked by him, jamming her toes into her sneakers as she grabbed the door and opened it for the both of them. Equius stood there for a moment, simply watching her bustle around before realizing she was waiting on him. "Right. I'll come over later than. It's spring break for school so I'm free whenever." He slipped out of the door, which was soon closed as they headed down the apartments hallway. Nepeta dug through her bag, finding a small mirror as she brought it up and groaned at herself.

Her hands picked at her face, rubbing at her eyes and attempting to make herself at least OK. She turned and looked up at Equius, holding his gaze as they waited for the elevator. "Do I look ok? Or do I look like I was dragged through a rose bush face first?"

He chuckled gently and shook his head, his hand now having a mind of its own as it reached up and tucked some hair behind her ear. "You look fine" Nepeta nodded slowly, looking away once the elevator chimed. They both stepped in, taking their proper side of the metal contraption as its doors slid shut and sent them down to the parking garage. Nepeta swayed from heel to toe, holding her bag in front of her as it hit her knees gently. Glances were stolen from behind his glasses as he stood there, smiling to himself. There was no way he was going to chicken out tonight.

Eventually the doors opened again and Equius walked Nepeta to her car, or rather ran with her to her car. By the time they got there she was breathing heavily and grinning from ear to ear, looking up at him as they both used the hood of the truck to keep themselves up. "Thank you, I'll see you later today." She said this between breaths, leaning up to press a lingering kiss to his cheek before she climbed into the car. Equius tapped on the window though, which she rolled down with a questions expression. "If you need anything, anything at all, you have my number."

She nodded quickly, leaning through the open window to steal one last kiss from his cheek. "Of course. I'll call you when I get off for lunch. So don't run into any pretty girls before then and forget about me ok?" Nepeta laughed teasingly but he simply shook his head with a smile, uttering one word before he left for his own car.

"Impossible."

Her stomach did somersaults as he walked away, watching him until she could no longer see his figure, and then she stared a little longer. Work, was now the least of her worries to be honest. She wondered if this, whatever this was, was something that would last, of course, Nepeta certainly hoped so. This was like nothing she had ever experienced and she couldn't get enough of it. Nepeta didn't have an experienced, or great love life. Usually, her feelings were unrequited, or she went out with one of _those_ guys. You know the ones, the kind that use their hands to fix problems instead of talking out the issue. Really, now that she thought about it, she couldn't blame Karkat for how he had acted at the café when meeting Equius.

The drive there was a quiet one, usually she would have her music on, blasting the soundtracks at obnoxiously loud volumes. But this time, she allowed the radio to drone on about, politics maybe? She wasn't listening that closely, her mind was mostly locked on driving correctly while thinking of Equius. Was she suppose to be thinking about him this much? Did he think about her this much? Were they even a thing or did he have to ask her out first? WOULD he even ask her out? Nepeta exhaled deeply, blinking a couple of times to clear her mind. Just chill, none of this had to be decided on her way to work.

Nepeta, was completley oblivious to the many calls she was missing right now from Karkat. Each one went straight to voicemail, since it was a habit of hers to turn the sound off at night. Her brother called at least seven times, and it wasn't just because he wanted to talk to her. Once Nepeta pulled up next to her shop, she shut the engine off and dug sat up, trying to reach underneath her butt so he could find her phone that had slid from her pocket. This time, Karkat's call wouldn't go to voicemail. She frowned gently as she picked it up and answered.

"Karkat? Yeah, yeah I'm fine. No... I'm just pulling into work now I slept in, why? Wait, what. Are you serious?" Her eyes widened as the conversation progressed, fingers curled so tight around her phone she was afraid she might crush it. Nepeta nodded quickly to her brother's panicked and shaky voice. The shakiness of it now matched hers. "Y-Yeah, I can do that. I'll be at the hospital in a few minutes. I love you too." She swallowed as he hung up, continuing to stare bug-eyed at the car.

She could not believe this was happening. She... She needed to call Equius. Her hands fumbled around with the plastic box in her hand, and for the second time now she would be calling him because of a personal emergency. Thankfully this time she had her phone.

"Equius?"

"Oh, hello Nepeta, is it already time for your lunch break? I swore you only left a few minutes ago..."

"No no, It's not that.. Uh..." She twisted her hair around nervously, contemplating wether or not she should lie and hang up, but then how would she explain not being able to make lunch?

"Yes?"

She sighed and continued on hesitantly.

"Would... Would it be ok if you meet me at the hospital?"

"At the hospital? Is everything alright, you aren't hurt are you?"

"I'm fine... It's uh, a really close friend of mine. He got into a car accident. Karkat will meet us there with his boyfriend."

"Alright. I'll starting heading there now."

"Equius...?"

"Yes?"

There was a moment of silence that passed between them.

"Thank you. For everything. I know you don't have to help me since we aren't even dating and it's not like i'm your top priority, but thank you."

Another moment of silence passed before Equius cleared his throat.

"But you have become a priority, Nepeta. And the dating part, that, that might change very soon. I'll see in a few minutes. Be safe."

Click. Nepeta thought she was going to have a heart attack from how fast her heart was racing. She dropped her phone in her lap and raised a hand to cup around her mouth, feeling tears begin to prick in the corner of her eyes. They were far from unhappy tears though.


	11. Chapter 8

Well.. Here you guys go, the next chapter after what, 4 weeks now? Man. I am so, so, so sorry. I can't even begin to describe how sorry I am for not posting sooner. I've got finals going on and just everything has been completely chaotic. But I promise I'm going to get back into routine and I have new chapters already planned, started, and on the way! Hope you guys enjoy xx

* * *

"You are Miss Leijon, correct?"

It had taken all of ten minutes to get from her work to the hospital after her call with Equius. It probably should have taken longer, but when you break speed limits you can get anywhere as fast as you want! Nepeta nodded slowly to the nurse behind the desk, who was wearing an all-too-cheerful smile for such a place. "Yes, I am, um… How did you know that?" A small wrinkle formed between her eyebrows as she looked at her.

The woman stood up in her seat, pointing over the counter and towards a corner in the front of the room. There sat perhaps enough seats for an entire army, and a wounded army at that. Though, not the kind with bandages wrapped around their foreheads, they were the kinds with wounds on the inside, in the form of broken hearts and pitifully high hopes. They fought the internal battles. The nurse's lips parted, her peppy voice flowing out and bugging Nepeta's eardrums. "The young man over there told me to direct you over when you came in. He described you for me." She said.

Nepeta finally spotted the man she was referring too, which would be her brother. She mumbled a quick thank you to the nurse before hurrying over to him. Karkat glanced up, hearing the shuffling of feet coming his direction. When he recognized her, he shot up from his seat and met her half way. They both collided into a hug, Nepeta's arms curled around him tightly, face going to bury deep into the crook of his neck. Karkat's arms found their way around her, holding her tightly against him. For a moment, it seemed like they were the only two in the room, standing there and hugging each other tightly like a bunch of saps. They soon realized though that they weren't the only ones here. Nepeta lifted away, feeling a finger tap on her shoulder. She turned and looked at whoever the finger belonged to, her mouth twitching up into a smile as she now stared at Equius.

"I almost didn't expect you to come." She said. Equius shook his head, his eyebrows knitting together. "Of course I would come, you asked me didn't you?" He said. Nepeta smiled again and nodded, her smile didn't last long though. It soon flipped to a frown due to the cough behind her. She turned and looked at Karkat, who had his arms folded across his chest and was giving her probably the most disapproving face she had ever seen. "And why the hell is he here? He doesn't even KNOW Tavros."

Nepeta cleared her throat "I asked him to come, Karkat. He isn't going to do anything wrong and we are now really good friends so I guess it's time for him to meet the others and such, right? Besides we are here for exactly that reason, Tavros, the more support the better." She raised an eyebrow at him as his mouth opened to object, but it soon closed and he sighed. Karkat reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose before turning around with his hands thrown up in the air. "Well in that case why don't we just invite his family too, maybe we could invite his students as well!"

Boy, was he asking for it. Nepeta's hands curled up into fists, prepared to walk over there and smack her brother but she felt Equius's hand on her. Her shoulders relaxed from their hunched position, fingers unravelling. "You aren't the boss of me." Nepeta said, mumbling it under her breath. The older simply snorted as he held his face up with his palm. Her hand shot up, taking hold of Equius's hand and weaving her fingers in between his. She stared at Karkat as she led them over to the other side of the seating area defiantly. Her defiance only lasted a little bit, though, before she felt her feet come up from underneath her.

Nepeta yelped as she expected to go sprawling across the floor, tripping over one of those stupid kids toys. Instead, she was pulled back up onto her feet, Equius still holding onto her hand and keeping her from falling. She smiled sheepishly at him, mumbling a quiet thank you before she dared a glance in Karkat's direction. The boy had a hand covering his mouth, his body shaking with the laughter he was so very clearly trying to hold in. Her face turned red as she slumped down into a seat, taking Equius with her. He simply followed without so much of a question or remark. Nepeta glanced up at him before down at their hands, noticing they were still intertwined. She apologized quickly and started to let go, but his fingers squeezed over hers and she paused. Nepeta stared at him.

"If you don't mind…" He said, referring to their tangled fingers. Nepeta pulled her legs up onto the seat with a smile and a shake of her head. "I don't mind at all." She returned the squeeze. Did this… mean something? Her heart fluttered, head falling onto his shoulder. Equius glanced down at her before moving his chin on top of her head and closing his eyes. Eyes watched them from across the room, eyes that belonged to a certain older brother. Karkat exchanged looks between the two, though, they weren't disapproving looks. Not in the least. Just then a nurse walked over, piping up and calling for a mister Vantas. Heads turned, but only three stood up. Karkat walked over, speaking quietly but the nurse simply pursed her lips and nodded her head away from the waiting room. That wasn't a good sign. Nepeta stared at her brother, who glanced at her, before following the nurse.

"Why does she have to take him away from the waiting room? She can't say it here? Do you think something bad is going on?" She turned and looked up at Equius, who shook his head and took her away from the seats as well. "I haven't the slightest clue. I'm sure your friend, Tavros correct? Is perfectly fine. Don't worry." He slipped her a smile in hopes of easing her nerves, which it did a little bit. "Yeah… You're probably right." Nepeta swallowed and gave Equius's hand a squeeze as Karkat walked back to them. His facial expression had changed, looking like he had just seen a ghost. A feeling of dread washed over Nepeta and she found herself squeezing tighter onto Equius's hand, who squeezed back gently but mainly paid no mind to the death grip. "Is everything ok?" She said, hopefully. Karkat cleared his throat and reached up, rubbing his hands across his face before he finally spoke. "The nurse said we can go see him, but he…" His sentence trailed off.

Nepeta thought she was going to explode from all this anticipation. "What is it?" She said, wanting him to just spit it out already. "They said that because of the accident… Tavros is paralyzed from the waist down. And…" He swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat before continuing. "He may never walk again. They are calling it complete paraplegia. We are allowed to go see him as a group for a few minutes but then they will only be taking visitors one at a time after that… You can ask the doctor more when we get in there." Nepeta's lips parted, unable to find any words. Her mind had gone completley blank except for one word in particular floating around. Paralyzed. How could… How could this be happening? Tavros couldn't be paralyzed, surely they had the wrong person! Without her even realizing it, tears had began to prick in the corners of her eyes.

Karkat shook his head at her, quickly stepping forward so he could grab hold of her and press her tightly to his chest. She was pretty much frozen, only able to move her arms up to grip the back of his shirt as hard as she could. Her brother spoke quietly, rubbing his hand up and down her back. "Hey, hey, don't cry. Tavros is going to be just fine, he's a tough dude. He'll get through this. We have to be just as strong for him, alright?" He pulled away and looked at her before pressing a kiss to her forehead. Karkat then nodded his head in the direction of Equius. "Go on, stop crying. We can go see Tavros, he is awake and everything." Nepeta nodded stiffly, turning back to Equius. He looked down at her, wearing a father-worthy look of concern. The smaller one held onto his hand as he leaned down. Lips fell onto her forehead and she sniffled, enjoying the affection while it lasted.

When he pulled away, the nurse had returned and waited quietly before speaking up and beginning to lead them to Tavros's room. "You know…" She spoke, looking at Equius. "Most people who know me, don't get to see me cry until they've known me for at least a few months…" Nepeta offered a teasing smile and he couldn't help but smile as well. "I suppose I am lucky then?" He said with a chuckle. "I guess so, if you consider someone crying early on in a friendship a lucky thing to witness! And twice!" Nepeta said with her own laugh. The boy in front of them raised an eyebrow at the word twice, calling over his shoulder. "Twice? When were you crying before?" He said.

Nepeta stifled another giggle, answering with a simple nothing that was returned with an eye roll she couldn't see, but most definitely could feel. The little bit of conversation they were exchanging calmed her greatly, Equius was just great like that. She always felt so… what was the word? Safe? At ease? Nepeta couldn't quite pinpoint the exact feeling she got around him. To be honest, it was a mixture of things! She stepped a little closer to his side as they continued down the hall, dropping her head onto his arm. The miserable looking one and the overly-attached "totally-not-dating" couple, were finally left alone in front of a door at the end of the hallway.

Hestitantly, the same door was opened by Karkat and they stepped in inside to have their eyes greeted with an uneasy sight. Tavros was awake, like they had said before, but looked extremely worn out. The steady beeping coming from the different machines in the room was the only noise until finally the boy in the bed spoke up. "Oh, hey guys. I'm so glad to see you." His voice was weak, and it nearly broke Nepeta's heart to see him in the state he was in. The group slowly shifted inside, closing the door behind them. Karkat decided to walk over first, pulling the seat in Tavros's room over next to his bed. His hands clasped around the paralyzed ones, hugging ever so slightly. "How are you feeling?" He said. Tavros shrugged his shoulders ever so slightly, staring down at his legs through the sheets. "A… A little helpl-less." A sniffle came from him and Karkat was instantly out of his seat, his arms around his friend.

He was consolled for what seemed like hours, but was really only minutes, before he pulled away and thought he could handle talking without crying. This was where Nepeta stepped in. The doctor had entered the room only minutes before and Karkat had asked him outside of the room for a word. She sat down stiffly in the chair, her legs shifting nervously underneath herself as she tried not to look down at Tavros's legs. Though, his hand rested on top of hers, drawing her away from her thoughts. She looked up at him and he gave her a smile. It wasn't his normal smile though, it was weak, much like the rest of him, and not the same happy grin that was almost always planted on his face. Just seeing him like this was enough to draw dark clouds, rumble thunder across her skies. Tavros might be able to get through talking now without crying, but that said nothing for Nepeta. She could feel the water rising up within her and finally to her eyes, quickly reaching up with her free hand to rub it away. "Don't worry. And don't cry you'll uh.. Make me cry." He said. A laugh echoed from Nepeta and she shook her head. "Out of all the times to make a joke." Nepeta stood up from her chair, still holding onto Tavros's. She leaned over him and pressed a kiss to his forehead, the boy underneath her closing his eyes.

"I'm going to worry whether or you like it or not, that won't change, and I think I can speak for everyone when I say that." She said with a gentle smile after she had leaned back. "But I won't cry, I promise, I know you can get through this Peter." Tavros's mouth fell open, wanting to say something but he couldn't find the words. His lips soon closed and twitched up into a smile. There was nothing that needed to be said, she had said it all just then. It was the one thing that he needed to hear most right now. "So, are you going to tell me who he is?" He said, nodding his head in the direction of Equius who had stood patiently. behind them. Oh right. Nepeta was sucked back into the fact that her and Tavros weren't the only people in the room. She turned to him, letting go of Tavros to take his side and curl an arm around his. "Well, this is Equius, I met him at work. He's my uh…" That feeling from that night on the roof came back, the feeling right before he was about to kiss her. So much anticipation and hope. Her head turned up in his direction, and he stared down at her, with an almost identical look she had never seen on him before. The storms from before had vanished, replaced with the sunshine that she knew was Equius.

"My boyfriend. Yeah."


	12. Chapter 9

_I'm so sorry_

* * *

Tavros was visited often, as often as everyone could see him with work and other things. The Nitrams were the second group to visit followed by the rest of his friends. He also started training on how to get through normal everyday situations with his paraplegia. It was a stressful week, but he was able to get through the sweat and tears. Tavros also moved in with Gamzee to make things a bit easier. Regarding Gamzee, after the accident, he didn't answer any of Karkat's calls anymore, or his texts. Anyway Karkat could get in contact with him, he used, and it was all ignored. Of course when Karkat found Gamzee on the streets, he yelled at him and he would apologize and act so pitiful, Karkat fell for it. The shorter one would eventually come down from his anger and instead apologize himself for being so mad. This happened at least once every week.

"I don't know what to tell you Karkat, I really think you should talk to him about this. And without the yelling, Gamzene is a little... Slow." She spoke over her shoulder as her brother followed with a bag of feed in hand. He slapped the dog food down on the shelf, his head falling down with it. "I don't want to talk about it. We shouldn't have to talk about it. He is the one that's making this so fucking difficult in the first place." He said, grumbling against the bag. Nepeta shook her head and glanced over at the clock on the wall. Her hands moved behind herself, untying her apron before doing the same to Karkat. She threw them over the shelf and took his hand, pulling him back up to his natural height. "We are gonna have some brother sister quality time tonight, ok?" He looked at her for a moment, contemplating the idea and actually beginning to like it, before a thought popped into his head. "And what about Equius? No plans with him tonight? If not, I'm fucking surprised, he's had his tongue down your throat since you guys started dating, what, only a week ago?" He said, bitterly.

Nepeta's eyes widened, starting to blush as she smacked him across the shoulder. "Shut up he has not! We've just been spending time together, I really like him Karkat…" She said, frowning, trying to stay mad at him, but we know how that goes. "I know, I'm giving you a hard time. Let's go get some dinner, I'm starving." His gaze was elsewhere after he spoke, but it soon returned to his younger sibling and snatched his hand out of his pocket, dragging him out of the building. "Nepeta aren't you forgetting something?" He said, his feet skidding across the concrete to get her to stop moving, which he accomplished. She paused for less than a second before spinning on her heels and going back to the emporium. Nepeta leaned inside the door, checking everything inside before she grabbed their coats and then locked up the place. Winter was most definitely here, and one of her favorite holidays was right around the corner too! She handed off Karkat's jacket to him, sliding her own on before glueing back to his side. Nepeta shivered slightly, her brother's hand rubbing her arm as they stepped on the sidewalk.

Her eyes wandered up, watching the buildings as snow fell and provided an icy blanket, their bases swallowed whole by the crowd of people on the streets. She let out a content sigh, closing her eyes and smiling. She was glad things were finally starting to calm down after everything that had happened with Tavros. They all definitely needed it. Besides, Christmas was about here and they had things to look forward to! "So, what do you want to do for dinner tonight? I think we should eat out, and by eat out I mean bad Chinese or something. " She said with a giggle, though her brother wasn't amused. He looked distant, his mind probably flooded with thoughts of Gamzee. Nepeta pursed her lips and slid her hand into Karkat's, giving it a gentle squeeze and pulling him from his thoughts. "Hey… I love you a lot, you know that? It really hurts to see you like this so… We will visit him after dinner alright? I'm just about as tired of him as you are." Karkat simply stared down at her for a moment before nodding stiffly. The cross walk flipped colors and they crossed the street, coming up to a small Italian joint. They were regular's here since Nepeta came here for her lunch break a lot, and Karkat would meet up with her and Eridan. She nearly shivered at the thought of Eridan.

There had been no mention of him since that night; she hadn't said a single word about it to Karkat either. She wouldn't dare. Eridan wouldn't be breathing now if he knew. Her co-worker though, had left many calls and spammed her phone with text messages. Apparently he had managed to stay sober after the ordeal. A little bell above the door greeted them into the restaurant and man behind a cash register offered them an even more cheery greeting. Nepeta returned it politely before settling down in a booth near a window with her brother. A waiter soon joined them, asking for drinks. "I'll have lemonade, and Karkat? What do you want?" He was staring in the completely opposite direction of the man, only shooting a glance at him before mumbling, "water."

Karkat remained stuck in his own thoughts. he knew that Nepeta was attempting to make conversation with him, but he couldn't stop thinking about Gamzee. He couldn't be doing this to him, it was fucking cruel. Hell, Karkat was sure that even if they did go to his apartment, he would still get ignored. But maybe going was a good idea, maybe he could fix whatever he broke. None of it got discussed aloud, he just continued to stare off despite his little sisters concerned gaze and occasional question that went unanswered. He only snapped out of his reverie when their drinks were set down on the table, grumbling a thank you to the waiter who reminded him a nauseating amount of Egbert. "Thank you.." Nepeta smiled gently at their waiter, offering kinder manners than her brothers, as their drinks were set down. The young man smiled back kindly. A cheese pizza was ordered along with some breadsticks before he wandered off to give the ticket to the kitchen.

Once he had left, Karkat returned to his self-loathing thoughts and Nepeta swirled her straw around in her lemonade, watching the ice cubes bump into each other before her gaze shifted to Karkat. This wasn't his fault, none if it was. Gamzee hadn't been a good choice to begin with but... She couldn't find it within herself to tell him otherwise when he had been so happy when him. Nepeta hadn't seen her brother as happy as he was when they started dating, in a very, very long time. Probably since Terezi. Her name had become something that wasn't spoken or even whispered in their house. She was nothing but trouble for him. Nepeta's fingers creeped across the table, sliding up on top of his hand. "What's on your mind Bubby?" Nepeta said with her lips curved up in a gentle smile. She knew what he was thinking about, and Karkat knew what she meant by asking that. She wanted him to talk to her, she was probably a lot kinder than his own mind.

"It's nothing." He said, shifting to look at her, sipping from his water. He was being stubborn now. Nepeta knew that Karkat talking to her would be a lot easier, he knew it too. They had met this situation a few times. Karkat bit down on his straw, chewing it a bit while he continued to amuse the nasty thoughts in his head. Nepeta was going to just let it go, maybe she was wrong. Perhaps Karkat didn't need to talk about it and didn't need want coddling like she had done to him when they were in school. Though, it seemed like his need for socialization won and he spoke slowly, as if he needed to choose his words carefully or they might come true. And that's exactly what Karkat thought. "I think... I think Gamzee has stopped loving me, Nepeta. God, he probably fucking hates me as much as I hate my own fucking self." His words had slowly deteriorated into nothing but barely even audible whispers. Karkat still didn't want to mention his theories of unfaithfulness.

Nepeta squeezed his hand tightly, the worry on her face more than clear and the bit of anger towards Gamzee hidden behind it. "Now you listen here, Gamzee would never hate you if he really loves you. And if he does hate you for some reason... Then you don't deserve this bullshit. None of this is your fault and don't tell me you weren't thinking that because I know you were." She frowned and only looked away from him when their waiter set their pizza down. Nepeta made no move for it though, she continued to stare at her brother. "Whatever happens, it's for the best. You didn't do anything wrong and this is his fault. Everything he's put you through lately... Trust me, whatever happens is for the better good of you and fuck him ok? It wont be easy to get over him, I know. But you have me to help you out along the way. I'll do anything and everything I can to help." She said sternly, Karkat now staring at her with slightly wide eyes. He nodded ever so slightly and pulled his sleeve up over his hand, quickly wiping his eyes.

"Thank you, Nepeta. I don't know how I would survive without you. I mean I guess I could, but things would be pretty shitty." He said with a quiet laugh, shaking his head. "Of course it would be shitty, because I'm great." She grinned at him and he rolled in his eyes in response. Her smile only widened at the reaction. For once she got something normal out of him. "Right well, lets eat before our dinner gets cold." Her stomach was rumbling as she looked down at the pizza, taking hold of one of the slices. The cheese stretched as she pulled it away and she quickly broke it with her fingers, tilting her head back and letting the string fall into her mouth. "This pizza is almost as great as sex." She said with a mouthful of it, getting a snort and a muffled laugh from her brother who was also stuffing his face. Nepeta was glad she got to talk to him, and was glad her point got across to him. Growing up, it had been hard to shake him out of his self-loathing thoughts, and she could see he never let go of them. But with a little talking and a lot of hugging, she could get him to calm down. Nepeta smiled while watching him hiss and cuss at the pizza slice he had just taken from the pan, forgetting to let it cool. Yeah, things were finally calming down.

The rest of their dinner was loud, drawing much attention from their neighbors and occasionally getting glares from people. They didn't care though, they were too busy having a good time and laughing their asses off. Nepeta and Karkat had made quick work of their pizza, a near entirely eaten second one sitting in front of them. She shook her head, reaching up and wiping the tears from her eyes. Karkat looked about the same across from her and was grinning from ear to ear. This is definitely what he had needed. Nepeta was still quietly giggling, thanking their waiter as he brought over the check that was already payed for. Her elbow rested on the table and she held her chin in her hand, lips curved up in a sweet smile. There was a warmth in her eyes as she gazed at her brother, a warmth that she only held for the people closest to her heart. She could see it in her brother's eyes and now that she thought about it, perhaps everyone had that look. Nepeta nodded, agreeing with herself, her cheeks now suddenly rosy. Equius looked at her that way all the time.

Karkat slid out from behind the table, yawning and stretching his arms above his head. The dinner crowd had died down in the restaurant and only a few people were left. His arms dropped back by his side before he slid his jacket on and held an elbow out for his sister. Nepeta quickly got up to join him, tugging her own coat on and gladly accepting his arm. She snuggled into him as they left the building, head leaning against his arm. "So, do you think Tavros is going to be ok?" Nepeta glanced up at him as his lips parted to answer her. "Yeah, Tavros will be fine. He's tough. All of our friends are anyways. And speaking of all our friends, he has them too and things will be fine." He made no move to mention that he had a new roommate too. Nepeta had a feeling they would soon be adding a name to list of people who "shall not be named" in their household. She nodded all the same though as they continued down the sidewalk, realizing that Karkat was leading them towards Gamzee's apartment. Nepeta stopped abruptly, causing Karkat to nearly trip. "Karkat. Are you sure you want to do this? We could just go home." The worry returned to her features and he bent down to meet her height, pulling her into a reassuring hug. "No, I want to. I think I need to anyways..." He said, pursing his lips afterwords. She offered an understanding squeeze. Moments later, they were inside the entry way to Gamzes's apartment. Karkat was breathing rather shakily, his sister attempting to soothe him by rubbing his arm while they waited on the elevator.

If it was this nerve-wracking for her, she could only imagine how Karkat felt. The ding of the elevator chimed, signaling that it was here to pick up them and lift Karkat to his fate. She never thought one little sound could sound so sinister. As the doors opened, they were surprised to see Tavros inside. He tilted his head slightly in confusion as he took hold of the bars on his wheels and started to move out of the elevator. "Uh, hey Nep. And, Karkat? What are you..." The way he said Karkat came out more like a question and his eyebrows knitted together. Nepeta was just about as confused, but she managed a small smile at her friend. "Hey Tavros, what are you up to?" He suddenly looked scared, eyes cast at the ground and occasionally darting up to look at Karkat. His fingers were a mess in his lap as he played with them. "I, uh, well. You see." He swallowed before continuing. "I was going to go visit the library for something to do, because Gamzee was getting loud." His cheeks tinted pink. "I-I thought you were upstairs with him..." Before he could finish, realization hit Nepeta and her head snapped to look at her brother but he was already gone. She watched him as he ran up the stairs, eyes wide. "Tavros I've gotta go I'll catch you later." Nepeta said quickly, dashing to the stairs.

"Karkat wait!" She yelled at her brother, but he was way ahead of her and ignored her yelling. He made it to the fourth floor of the apartment and about broke the door down he pushed it so hard. His shoulder was stinging though. Karkat's entire world felt like it was crumbling down, the walls in the hallway closing in around him and suffocating him. He was shaking as he searched under the doormat in front of his room, Nepeta finally catching up. Her voice sounded like it was in slow-motion, dripping like molasses off her lips. Karkat missed the keyhole on the door a few times before finally it swung open to show his apartment. Nepeta stood in the door frame, watching him as his hands curled up into fists and he headed straight for his bedroom. She could hear exclamations of surprise from the room and it seemed like seconds later Karkat had thrown the door open to his room and was storming out.

Nepeta's heart stopped, seeing the tears rolling down his cheeks. His face was angry, but the pain was all too clear as he pushed past his sister and headed for elevator. She spun around and quickly ran in front of him, pushing her small hands into his chest and forcing him to stop moving. His head was turned to the side, jaw clenched and as the tears continued to come, he didn't bother wiping them away. "K-Karkat?" She swallowed and leaned to the side, trying to look at him. His eyes shifted, looking at her from the corner of them.

"He's with her."

Nepeta froze. She dared a glance beyond her brother and into the apartment. A panicked Gamzee was scrambling out of his bedroom, pulling his pants on and yelling for Karkat, but that's not what she was focused on. Her eyes locked on her small frame that was poking out is the room, wrapped up in bed sheets and holding them tightly to her naked body. Nepeta looked back to her brother and slid her hand into his, fingers tangling together.

"Lets go."


End file.
